As tenants of Lehigh's Stabler Arena over their first four years of existence, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks simply "tried to make do" with the limitations of a place built primarily for basketball, concerts and graduation ceremonies, but not indoor football.

"We did as much as we could at Stabler," Mike Clark, the Steelhawks executive vice president and general manager, said.

From the moment ground was broken on the PPL Center in the heart of Allentown, the Steelhawks had visions of relocating there.

Even before the building opened last summer, the Steelhawks had a press conference announcing that the Professional Indoor Football League team would be one of the facility's new tenants.

The April 12 home opener may still be two months away, but earlier this week the Steelhawks got to see its vision become a reality as front office personnel laid down the brand new field at the PPL Center, providing a glimpse of what six games inside the area's newest entertainment destination will look like.

And to the Steelhawks it looked pretty good.

The new field, sponsored by Embassy Bank, features black turf and "Vegas" gold end zones to match the team's colors.

"The PPL Center takes us to a whole new level," Clark said. "We wanted to do something different and exciting for the fans and we thought how cool it would be to start it off with black turf that coincides with our team colors. Embassy Bank saw our vision and decided to partner with us. So, now you've got Embassy Bank Field."

The field is 85 feet wide and 200 feet long, covering a 50-yard playing field and 8-yard end zones. To conform to the ice hockey rink that the field sits atop, the end zones are rounded.

The field offers much more thickness than the carpet used at Stabler.

"Our carpet at Stabler was kind of like the surface at Veterans Stadium," Clark said. "This is a very new technology of turf. We went with a thicker turf to provide more cushion and hopefully eliminate some of the injuries. We're excited to roll this out."

Chris Thompson, the team's head coach and assistant GM, has been impressed with everything he has seen at the PPL Center.

"What a great field and a great venue," Thompson said. "There's more padding with this turf and it will be softer for the guys to land on. I know the players are excited, the coaches are excited and the front office is excited with how everything is turning out."

The team's new home has provided a boost in enthusiasm and interest for a team that often struggled to attract big crowds at Stabler.

"It's the best offseason we've had to date," Thompson said.

Sales for season tickets and sponsorships are up significantly according to Clark and Thompson.

"We're the cheapest event possible for people to come here and see the PPL Center," Clark said. "You get a ticket on gameday for $10 and you can get seasons tickets for $8 per game. Our goal is to entertain you for 21/2 to 3 hours watching a pro sport and we're including the fun aspect as well with all of our promotions and games. It's an event; it's not just football."

Clark said indoor fireworks are being planned for the 4 p.m. April 12 opener against the Harrisburg Stampede.

But besides all of the bells and whistles that are being lined up, Thompson is busy assembling a team that can compete for the PIFL title.

The Steelhawks made it to the league championship game last summer.

Thompson was excited to see the reaction of potential players once they get to see how the new field looks on social media.

"I can only imagine how many eyes are going to light up just as our eyes did," Thompson said. "We want to host our first playoff game this year and we're hoping to win the league championship. We've come close the last three years and on paper, we're extremely pleased with what we have coming into camp.

"We've got quality guys coming back as well as some guys from teams we played against who will be with us and we're also excited about some of our rookies."

One of those rookies is expected to be Jaleel Clark, the former Parkland High standout receiver who played at the University of Missouri.

Training camp begins March 4 with the first practice on March 6 at the bubble facility at Iron Lakes. The season opens March 29 at the Erie Explosion.